Packing for rods and shafts



- H. F. SAUTTER Dec. 30, 1930.

PACKING FOR RODS AND SHAFTS Filed Sept. 14 1926 Patented Dec. 30, 1930 i v ijs eze (STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOSEA r. sAU'rrEnmF roarwon'rn, TEXAS, assrenon TO THE LINDE AIR rnonucrs a COMPANY, A CORPORATION oromo" rAcKmeron nons em SHAFTS Application filed. September 14,1926. Serial No. 125,418.,

This" invention relates particularly to ,a metallic packing for the high pressure pis-. ton rods" of fluid compressing machines, a1- thoughit maybe used on other rods as w'illbe apparent. i In the operation of extracting helium from natural gas, considerable trouble has been encountered in obtaining a suitable packing for the rods of the natural gas and nitrogen compressors, as the diameter and velocityof the rods and plungers is greater thanhas been encountered in other work. Furthermore, in the compression of natural gas, the natural gas, especially under high pressure, has a solvent action on some of the ingredients of many of the common packings causing them to disintegrate. In an effort to obtain a satisfactory packing most of the well known commercial pack iiigswere tried and had tobe discarded as unsuitable. Some of them lasted but a few hours and others never stopped leaking. Metallic packings failed because when tightened eno'ughto prevent leakage they either flaked 011' and the loosened particles clogged the compressor valves or they fused to the piston rods so it' was necessary to dismantle the cylinders and remove the rods under a hydraulic press.

withstand higherpiston rod speeds and cyl.--

inder pressures than those'heretofore encountered. Also, one that 1s less expens ve, easier'to install and more economical to maintain in working condition than those g rings of a similar nature may be used. These heretoiorein use. I H p v I v The constructlon and operation ofthis drawings which form a part of this application, and in which: p I I V Fig.1 is a sectional view of an improved packing embodying this invention, assembled ina typical stuffing box; V

Figs. 2 and 3 are; respectively, a plan and rings of the same.

The non-metallic packings failed because the hi h pressure within the cylinders blew. holesthrough'them and when" they were strengthened to prevent this they a sectional viewof one ofthe solid metal rings of thisimproved packing; and

Figs. 4t and 5 are, respectively, a plan and sectional View of one of the multi segment In the drawing, a designates a portion of a cylinder head carrying an inwardly exe tending stnfiing boxhaving a cylindrical. outer wallb and a bore 0 somewhatflarger than the diameter of the piston rod d which passes through it, and an inner end wall 6 having a bore loosely fitting therod (Z and a flat bottom surface 6 forming a seat forthe packing which will be described later.

Anadjustable closure for the outer end of the bore '0 is formed by the gland f having an outturned fiange f in whichare holes h which slide over the studs 2' secured in the cylinder head a. Nuts h on the studs 2' bear against the flange 7 to force its cylindrical portion into the space between the bore '0 and the rod cl, where it is a sliding fit. The stufiing box just described is adapted to hold the improved packing and, being oi? a form well known in the art, needs no further description'. Its diameter may be varied to suit the size of the rod passing through it and its length may be varied to receive the number of packing rings necessary to hold the cylinder pressure with which it is used.

Broadly speaking,'the improved composite packing consists of a multiple assembly of three-element units disposed between two end packing rings 10, 10, the ring 1() bearing against the bottom a of: the stufling box and the ring 10 abutting against the inner end 7 of the gland. The rings IO,lO"may consist of relatively thick resilient material such as spongy asbestos,Garlock split packing rings No. 550 have been found suitable but other rings desirably are rectangularin c-ross-section andclosely fit the piston and the bore of the stuflingbox. Each of the threeelement units consists of (l) a one-piece hard metal "Thesoli'd ring 11 has a'fiat side 14 which,

in each unit, is perpendicular tothe axis of the rod'd and faces toward the high pressure side of the packing. The opposite side 15 of this ring is beveled so as to leave a narrow inner circular edge 16 that is of substantially greater diameter than the piston rod (Z so as not to touch the rod when the latter is operating. The outer circular edge or face b 17 of this ring is much wider than the edge 11.6,.and its diameteris. such that the ring 11 tary to the ring. 11, substantially fittingbe-- tween-the latterand the rod (Z so as to pro vide a' unit that is approximately rectangular in cross-section. As shown, thering 12 may be divided or split-into three segments of substantially equal size by three radial separating cuts 01' joints 18. One side 19 of this ring is beveled the same degree as the side 15 of'the ring 11 that interlits therewith, the beveled side 19 facing away from the rod (Z so that, any pressure on the ring 11 will tend to'force the inner curved sides 20 of the segments of the ring 12' inwardly against and into fluid-tight sealing relation with the rod whilethe latter is reciprocating. The outer side 21 of the multi-segment ring is considerably narrower than the side 20, and is also somewhat smaller in diameter than the bore 0 and may be provided with a groove 22 to receive a cord or wire to hold the segments in place in assembling the same on the rod. The

number and form of the separatingcuts may be varied, as their mainfunction is to compensate'for the, wear of the s1de'20 and to permit the bore of this ring to be brought into good sealing contact with the rod at all times, hence there may be two or more cuts of various shapes". I 7

It is important that the multi-segment or split ring that engages and seals the rod shall be of substantially softer metal composition than the outer metal ring that cooperates therewith. I have found that a suitable alloy for making this split ring may consist of about 14.5% of tin and 85.5% of lead; and that a suitable alloy for making the outer ring may consist ofabout 31.5% of tin and 68.5% of lead. Of course, these proportions and'materials may be varied, the essential purpose being to provide a suitable soft metallic inner ring thatshall pack the rod without excessively frictionally heating the latter or fusing to it, and a harder outer metallic ring that shall be capable of withstanding high cylinder pressure and transmit the same to the inner ring without failure or undue wear. It is furthermore desirable to coat the cooperating beveled sides 15 and '19 with a suitable lubricant so they will freely slide relatively to one another without substantial friction or wear under high contact pressures.

This maybe done in preparing the rings by first applying a mixture of shellac and graphite to the surfaces 15 and 19 which, after .side'23 of the ring 12. Any hard commercial sheet packing other than rubber and which is slightly compressible and resilient but does net disintegrate or flake oil, may be used for this ring,Grarlock 900 and that sold under the trade name of Durabla, which consist of compressed asbestos fiber, mica and graphite, having been found satisfactory. The principal function of the sheet packing gasket is to arrest leakage past the ends of the segments of the multi-segment ring and also to arrest leakage along therod and the wall of the stufiing box, the gasket being squeezed radially by the pressure of the interfitting metallic rings into tight contactwith both rod and wall. However, the operation of the rod in somecases wearsofl' the inner edge of this gasket until it is not very effective in packing along the rod, the packing of the latter being practically entirely dependent upon the multi-segment ring or rings.

In assembling the packing in the stuffing box,'the ring 10 of spongy asbestos packing about one half inch thick is. placed. in the bottom of the stuffing box against the wall 6. The thickness of this ring may be varied somewhat but its widthv radially'sh-ould be sufficient to substantially fill'the space, .be-

with the stufling. box, and upon the size and velocity of the rod and the nature of the fluid within, the cylinder. The packingdisclosed is especially adapted to withstand very high cylinder pressures, one thousand pounds per square inch and upwards, but may also be applied for packing.- lower pressures. For most pressures with which itisused. itis desirable toemploy a. plurality of several units and rings 10, 10 into'proper positions and alinement. It is unnecessary to tightly compress the packing with the gland f as the sealing action of the packing appears to. be practically independent of the gland pressure upon it, the gland serving principally as an end'abutment and retainerfor the packing. By thus applying a much lower pressure than usual through the gland. deformation of the packing material and excessive friction against the rod areavoided. Lubrication for the packing may be supplied by a lubricator 25 which drops oil onto the rod just outside the gland f.

In operation, the fluid pressure from within the cylinder prevails over the radial side 14: of the first ring 11 adjacent the cylinder, forcing said ring against the adjoining multisegment ring 12. Thebeveled sides of these two rings are in contact andcooperate to radially press the side 17 of the outer ring against the bore 0 and the side 20 of the inner ring against the rod cl. On any one segmental ring element, the intensity of mean fluid pressure between the rod and this element is less than that obtaining between its outer thinner edge and the bore 0, which latter pressure also permeates between the beveled sides which are not in absolute contact at every point. This difference of total pressures, acting radially inward on each segment of this ring, combined with a radial inward'force resulting from the action, at the beveled surfaces in contact, of the transmitted fluid pressure over the ring next to the cylinder, causes the segment to move inward into close contact with the rod to effectively pack the rod. The pressure of the radial side 23 of the ring 12 against the gasket 13 squeezes the latter radially into tight contact with the bore 0 and the rod d. The leakage of pressure past the cooperating rings and gasket is thus practically prevented by one unit, in the case oflower pressures, and by a series of such units in the case of higher pressures,-the leakage past oneunit being partially or entirely held back by the'next unit, the final unit under highpressures substantially stopping the leakage, so that a pressure gradient is established from the cylinder to the gland. I

The remarkable success of the improved packing is apparent from the fact that the best of many .packings tried prior the one herein disclosed gave a maximum of about 1000 hours service and averaged consider ably less than that when replacement became necessary, whereasan improved packing embodying this invention is still operating satisfactorily under the same service conditions after more than -800 hours of actual operating service and shows no need of replacement. Vin-lei am'unahle to give an entire explanation for this superior effectiveness of my packing, the principle reason appears to be that the fluid pressure and its gradient along the assembly acts on the hard metal rings 1.1. to force the freely movable segments of the softer metal rings 12 inward to pack the rod (Z and to force the gasket 13 outward to pack the bore 0. Although the improved packing is described in detail, it will be understood that various changes, may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing its advantages.

I claim:

1. A high-pressure packing comprising outer and inner packing rings having coinplementary beveled sides in contaclt; said rings being composed respectively of two dif 'ferent lead alloys, the outer ring containing a lower percentage of lead and being materially harder than the inner. V I

2. k higlrpressure packing comprising outer and inner packing rings having complementary beveled sides in contact; said rings being composed respectively of two different alloys of lead and tin, the outer ring containing a lower percentage of lead and being materially harder than the inner.

8. A high-pressure packing comprising outer and inner packing rings having com plementary beveled sides in contact; said rings being composed respectively of two different alloys of lead and tin, theouter containing approximately 31.5% tin and the inner approximately 14.5% tin.

4. In combination, a metal packing ring havingone side conically dished, and a split ring having a convex surface interfitting with said dished surface, the two rings being composed of two diiferent lead-tin alloys with the split ring having a materially lower tin content. i

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

HOSEA F. SAUTTER. 

